Friday, March 7, 2014

List: Top 3 Detectives in Classic Literature

List
is a new category in the blog. If you want to know how it works, see the About Us page. Also in that page are the other review policies of the blog.

I’m
not a huge fan of mysteries, puzzles, and crime stories, but I admit that when
they are well-made, they could be very interesting, especially when the
elements that hold them together are complex and immune from premature
cracking.

That
being said, I haven’t read much stories of this kind, so the number of detectives
I considered to form this list is rather small. But this is actually
understandable. After all, there are not much detectives from classical
literature.

Please
take note that List posts are updated from time to time, meaning that the
entries in this list are subject to change, as I discover more classical detectives
that could overthrow the current Top 3.

3. Auguste Dupin

Auguste Dupin is created by Edgar
Allan Poe. He is featured in The Murders in the Rue Morgue, among many others.

What I really like about this
detective is the mere fact that he is one of the very first one. We can say
that he is one of the foundations of detective fiction. He has the basic outline
of the typical detective -- intelligent, imaginative, and has a personal
amusement to mystery. These traits are maximized in his observational and
inferential skills.

Sure, he is very much qualified for
solving complex cases, but that’s about the whole of Auguste Dupin. He really
lacks a personality that could make him a more solid character. He is not empty
though. I’m just saying that he’s not well-moulded either.

2. Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes is created by Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle. He is featured in The Hound of the Baskervilles, among many
others.

No doubt that he is the most popular
detective even until now, so it might be surprising to you why he didn’t get
first place and had to settle for Top 2. Please take note that List posts are
highly opinionated, and this entry is a perfect portrayal of that. Sherlock
Holmes being Top 2 is a personal matter, not technical. I just don’t like his
attitude. He has the tendency to be arrogant, especially because he understands
his own superiority.

But putting that aside, Sherlock
Holmes is an excellent detective with incredible deductive skills. He also has
great talent in collecting necessary information. I’d go as far as to say that
he is, overall, a better detective than Auguste Dupin.

He also has more personality than
Auguste Dupin, thanks to his arrogance and eccentricity. At least he has
something going on in him.

1. Sergeant Cuff

Wilkie Collins

Sergeant Cuff is created by Wilkie
Collins. He is featured in The Moonstone, considered the first English
detective novel.

Yes, he is just featured in one
book, and he is automatically at a disadvantage to the first two entries of the
list because he has very limited time to present himself. But still, I think he
easily beats them in terms of characterization.

Sergeant Cuff has a quirky
personality. For an old fellow, he sure has a sense of humour. He also has some
peculiar interests to make him more solid, like his interests in gardening and
flowers, particularly roses.

His detective skills are also
balanced and believable. Even though he is generally brilliant like the other
entries in the list, he has some huge space for error. This is very
interesting, because the mistakes he commits make the story just more intense.
So despite his relative inferiority, he is much more entertaining to subscribe
to. Add the fact that he has a quirky personality, and he becomes even more
entertaining. I’ll read him any day over an Auguste Dupin and Sherlock Holmes.

About The Author

You can call me Arvin Saints, but that is not my real name. I use that name in all my legitimate social media accounts. It’s not that I don’t want to directly associate myself to the cyber world. The name is simply an inside joke among my compatriots.

5 comments:

As you would probably guess, my favorite detective from classical literature is definitely Sherlock Holmes. I am biased though since I have been watching many Sherlock movies and TV series since I was a little kid. In general, I quite enjoy mysteries in various mediums and I have not read as many mysteries as I would like. The Moonstone sounds interesting, so I will have to look into that. As for my favorite detectives outside of literature, L from Death Note is one of my favorites. Yet another entertaining list!

Yeah, I figured you like Sherlock Holmes. I have nothing against him. He just rubs me the wrong way. I don't like his personality. It's not entertaining. Sergeant Cuff is more entertaining to read because of his personality.

Other than your top-novels post, I have no idea what kind of books you read, so I'm not sure if you're going to like the Moonstone. Classics are generally harder to read because of the writing styles, and add the fact that the Moonstone is a thick book, you might find it a chore to read.

Take note that this is a personal list of the detectives I've liked in classic literature. It's nothing technical, but it's more on personal preference. But Hercule Poirot is an interesting choice! He's definitely one of the most iconic ones.